Cuba forges ahead with renewable energy plans amid US oil blockade

Cuban energy minister denies link to fuel shipments intercepted by US, says oil imports by private firms insufficient.

A Russian oil tanker carrying 730,000 barrels of crude oil arrives at the port of Matanzas in northwestern Cuba on March 31, 2026 [Yamil Lage/AFP]

The Cuban government is pushing ahead with its plans to transition to renewable energy, amid a de facto oil blockade from the United States that has strangled the island’s economy.

In an interview with the Reuters news agency on Monday, Cuban Minister of Energy and Mines Vicente de la O Levy explained that the blockade has forced Cuba to explore domestic alternatives to foreign fuel imports.

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“We are seeking our own alternative solutions, using our own resources, our sun, wind, tides, fuel, Cuban crude oil and the gas produced in our wells,” de la O Levy said.

He said 144 solar farms with a combined capacity of about 1,418 megawatts have been installed on the island in recent years.

China has been the largest supplier of solar panels to the island, and shipments have increased since the blockade began in early January.

At the time, US President Donald Trump halted all oil shipments from Venezuela, a close ally of the Cuban government.

Later that month, Trump also announced he would impose heavy tariffs on any country that exported oil to Cuba, justifying the threat by calling the island’s government a “national security” threat.

Since then, only a single oil tanker from Russia has reached Havana. The US has increased its shipments of oil to Cuba’s private sector, but it has largely barred fuel exports for nationalised industries on the communist-led island.

The government-run electrical grid, widely considered to be antiquated, relies heavily on fossil fuels. Only 40 percent of Cuba’s electricity comes from ‌‌‌‌domestic ‌‌‌‌oil production, according to the International Energy Agency.

As of 2023, only nine percent of the country’s energy consumption was covered by renewable sources.

De la O Levy admitted in his interview with Reuters that the country was facing difficulties. The blockade has caused shortages of medicine, water and fuel, pushing Cuba to the brink of a humanitarian crisis.

“We are surviving and moving forward, little by little, even if not at the pace we would like,” he said.

“We face long hours of blackouts and lack fuel for cooking and transportation. We lack fuel, but we are gradually making headway through our own solutions and our people.”

Cuba’s production of domestic crude oil remains stable, he added, but is almost entirely allocated to power plants.

Aris Lopez Torres, owner of the Fuego Lento restaurant, speaks with technician Josecal Duarte during the installation of solar panels on the roof of her business along Havana’s waterfront [File: Lucien Migne/Al Jazeera]

The United Nations and human rights watchdogs have criticised the oil blockade as a violation of international law.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla also condemned the oil blockade in his speech at the UN General Assembly last month.

“It is an unusual and unprecedented action,” Rodriguez said of the blockade.

“A superpower unilaterally deprives all states of their right to export the commodities that they wish to the country that they wish.”

The US has maintained an economic embargo on Cuba for more than 60 years, since the Cold War era.

But since taking office for a second term as president, Trump has sought to squeeze Cuba’s economy further, as part of a “maximum pressure” campaign. His administration has indicated that it wants to topple Cuba’s government .

On October 7, US authorities announced they had seized 90 biodiesel fuel shipments valued at over $2.8m destined for Cuba.

“These shipments were part of an attempt to unlawfully export fuel to Cuba in violation of federal export laws,” US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said in a statement.

But in his interview with Reuters, de la O Levy denied the Cuban government had any link to the shipments.

“No Cuban state-owned company has managed to secure a fuel contract, whether for small or large quantities,” he said.

He added that any US oil shipments to private firms fall far short of the country’s requirements.

“I would venture to say that the amount entering the country doesn’t even cover 3 percent of its fuel needs,” de la O Levy said.

古巴能源部长否认与美国截获的燃料运输有关，称私营企业进口的石油数量不足。

2026年3月31日，一艘载有73万桶原油的俄罗斯油轮抵达古巴西北部的马坦萨斯港。[Yamil Lage/AFP]

尽管美国对古巴实施了事实上的石油封锁，导致该岛经济遭受重创，但古巴政府仍在推进向可再生能源转型的计划。

古巴能源和矿业部长维森特·德拉奥·莱维周一在接受路透社采访时解释说，封锁迫使古巴寻求国内替代外国燃料进口的方案。

古巴在又一次全国性大停电后努力恢复电力供应（共4条，第1条）

马可·卢比奥表示，美国对与古巴就政府更迭进行谈判持开放态度，这是四份名单中的第二份。

古巴谴责美国“集体惩罚”，特朗普预测将达成协议（共4项，此为第3项）

古巴在联合国指责美国蓄意造成人道主义灾难（共4项，此为第4项）

德拉奥·莱维说：“我们正在寻求我们自己的替代解决方案，利用我们自己的资源，我们的太阳、风、潮汐、燃料、古巴原油和我们油井中生产的天然气。”

他表示，近年来该岛已安装了 144 个太阳能发电场，总装机容量约为 1418 兆瓦。

中国一直是该岛太阳能电池板的最大供应国，自1月初封锁开始以来，出货量有所增加。

当时，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普停止了从委内瑞拉（古巴政府的亲密盟友）的所有石油运输。

当月晚些时候，特朗普还宣布，他将对任何向古巴出口石油的国家征收重税，并以古巴政府构成“国家安全”威胁为由，为这一威胁辩护。

自那以后，只有一艘来自俄罗斯的油轮抵达哈瓦那。美国增加了对古巴私营部门的石油供应，但却基本禁止向这个共产党领导的岛上的国有企业出口燃料。

古巴政府运营的电网被普遍认为陈旧过时，严重依赖化石燃料。据国际能源署统计，古巴只有40%的电力来自国内石油生产。

截至2023年，该国仅有9%的能源消耗来自可再生能源。

德拉奥莱维在接受路透社采访时承认，古巴正面临困境。封锁导致药品、水和燃料短缺，使古巴濒临人道主义危机边缘。

他说：“我们正在生存下去，并且一点一点地向前迈进，即使速度不如我们预期。”

“我们面临长时间停电，缺乏烹饪和交通所需的燃料。我们燃料短缺，但我们正在通过自身努力和人民的力量逐步取得进展。”

他补充说，古巴国内原油产量保持稳定，但几乎全部用于发电厂。

哈瓦那海滨的 Fuego Lento 餐厅老板 Aris Lopez Torres 与技术员 Josecal Duarte 交谈，当时技术员正在她的餐厅屋顶上安装太阳能电池板。[图片：Lucien Migne/半岛电视台]

联合国和人权观察组织批评此次石油封锁违反了国际法。

古巴外交部长布鲁诺·罗德里格斯·帕里利亚上个月在联合国大会上发表讲话时也谴责了石油封锁。

罗德里格斯谈到封锁时说：“这是一次不同寻常且史无前例的行动。”

“一个超级大国单方面剥夺所有国家向其希望出口的国家出口其希望出口的商品的权利。”

自冷战时期以来，美国对古巴实施了超过60年的经济封锁。

但自特朗普连任总统以来，他一直试图进一步打压古巴经济，这是其“极限施压”政策的一部分。他的政府已表明，希望推翻古巴政府。

10 月 7 日，美国当局宣布，他们查获了 90 批价值超过 280 万美元的运往古巴的生物柴油燃料。

美国移民和海关执法局 (ICE) 在一份声明中表示：“这些货物是企图违反联邦出口法律，非法向古巴出口燃料的一部分。”

但在接受路透社采访时，德拉奥·莱维否认古巴政府与这些货物运输有任何联系。

他说：“没有一家古巴国有企业能够获得燃料合同，无论是小批量还是大批量。”

他还补充说，美国向私营企业输送的任何石油都远远无法满足该国的需求。

德拉奥莱维说：“我敢说，进入该国的燃料量甚至不足以满足其 3% 的燃料需求。”